The present invention relates to portable telephone apparatus, and more particularly to a portable telephone handset in combination with a remote control for a cable television converter, satellite television receiver, or the like.
Various prior art references disclose the combination of a television remote control and a telephone. U.S. Pat. No. 4,392,022 discloses apparatus for controlling a telephone through a television remote control. All signals between the remote control and television/telephone are transmitted via an infrared ("IR") transmission link. This requires that the remote control be properly oriented with respect to an IR receiver mounted in the television at all times during operation of the remote control and/or telephone. This requirement is a disadvantage, particularly for telephone use. Unlike the operation of a television remote control, which only requires a momentary actuation of the remote control while pointed at the television, a telephone conversation can extend over a long duration. Requiring the user to keep the remote control properly oriented for operation of the IR transmission link for an extended time period is inconvenient and can cause fatigue.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,338,492; 4,349,701; 4,356,509; 4,377,729; 4,414,432; 4,427,847; 4,456,925; and 4,465,902 illustrate various television/telephone systems that suffer other disadvantages, such as a television mounted speaker phone that does not allow a private conversation.
U.S. Pat. Nos., 4,482,947; 4,626,847; and 4,855,746 disclose universal remote control transmitters that may be used to control a plurality of functions in a number of different devices. Each of the remote controls disclosed comprises a single infrared transmitter for effecting all remote control operations.
It would be advantageous to provide a remote control combined with a telephone handset that includes a separate transceiver, such as a radio frequency ("RF") transceiver, for use in carrying telephone audio signals while maintaining a conventional infrared link for communicating control signals to a television signal converter, telephone, or other appliance. By providing a separate link for telephone audio communications, the known advantages of infrared data links can be maintained while overcoming the disadvantages of such links for telephone audio communications. It would also be advantageous to provide an alternate system that carries all telephone signals (audio and control) on an RF link and all television control signals on an infrared link. It would be further advantageous to reduce the cost of a combined remote control and portable telephone handset by sharing, to the extent possible, components necessary for generating and transmitting control signals to implement both telephone and remote control features.
It would be further advantageous to provide a remote control and telephone handset in combination with a television signal converter, such as a cable television converter. Such a combined system could utilize the cable television network to communicate telephone signals to a central office. Such a system could also facilitate the implementation of pay-per-view cable television services wherein program ordering data is forwarded to the cable headend via a telephone return path.
The present invention provides apparatus having the aforementioned advantages.